What I did with my classic Triumph today?
921 - 940 of 9812 Posts
Replaced Boyer w/ Tri-Spark
The old Boyer was working fine but on occasion I would get really nasty kickback! Decided to go w/ the Tri-Spark as it apparently retards timing until up to RPM. Nice neat kit. Felt good to remove the Boyer box from it's hiding place inside the frame / under the gas tank. Now everything is hidden behind timing plate.
Starting doesn't seem that much easier (still a bit cold in New England and I don't have a choke), but I don't wince before every kick dreading a possible kickback!
M
The old Boyer was working fine but on occasion I would get really nasty kickback! Decided to go w/ the Tri-Spark as it apparently retards timing until up to RPM. Nice neat kit. Felt good to remove the Boyer box from it's hiding place inside the frame / under the gas tank. Now everything is hidden behind timing plate.
Starting doesn't seem that much easier (still a bit cold in New England and I don't have a choke), but I don't wince before every kick dreading a possible kickback!
M
Joined
·
6,804 Posts
Interesting. My BSA has a Boyer and last year I retarded it a bit because it was kicking back. That seemed to solve it. Then this spring , I fired her up and she kicks back again. My '76 T140V has a Boyer and starts perfectly every time with never a kick back.
Are Boyers known for doing this? Is there at rest timing subject to change based on things like temperature?
Thanks,
Rob
Joined
·
15 Posts
Changed the oil (I know, should have done it last fall when I put it away for the winter, but too damm cold). Installed the newly charged battery. Poured in 2 gals of 91 octane leaded gas. Checked electrical connections. Checked tire pressure. Adjusted throttle cables. Gave the carbs a long tickle. Loosened clutch. Started on first kick. Test ride which took care of slight clutch drag. Adjusted idle. Went for a long ride. First one on the Triumph since last October.
Some days life is good!
Some days life is good!
Joined
·
12,061 Posts
Mine doesn't.Nice.
I snapped the clutch cable as I downshifted coming off the highway. Managed to catch a record amount of green lights with average city traffic for a couple of miles towards home shifting clutchless. When I finally couldn't catch a green I pulled it over and started to walk the bike towards home (2 miles to go). A young girl (with the dragon tattoo?) in a retro 70's Yamaha stopped to ask if she could help. I borrowed her phone to let Mrs. triumpt120rv know I'll be a bit late getting home. Thanked the girl for her phone, walked the bike a couple more feet and said "screw this". Started it up, revved it up, kicked it into 1st, and rode home luckily catching another string of greens and not stopping for stop signs. Made it all the way home without walking it. Poor gears.
No spare cable in the garage. Forgot to order a spare after I snapped one in December. Won't have a new one mailed in until about Thursday. I hate taking transit to work.Oh well. Maybe now I'll do some much needed maintenance.
Joined
·
2,778 Posts
The most likely cause for kickback is low voltage where the Boyer reverts to full advance. Could your battery charge have been on the borderline? Bob
Joined
·
12,061 Posts
Too nice of a day to do maintenance on bike. Fixed snapped clutch cable instead. Lost the lever end piece of the clutch cable on the highway yesterday so I made my own by drilling then cutting out a portion from the shank of a hex screw. Soldered the cable end in and rode the bike in 20 degrees C. sunny weather. I'll use this cable as the spare when my new one comes in next week. No more need for taking public transit to work tomorrow.
Attachments
Joined
·
12,061 Posts
Thanks for another great tip, Dave. :thumb
Joined
·
218 Posts
Vincent Black Shadow
After getting my rich running bike sorted out (was a broke choke cable after all- thanks Jim Ballard!), took her for a nice long ride on some scenic roads in my area. I saw many bikes today but this one in particular was a standout.
This gentleman was on the side of the road working on his bike. I thought "wow, a Vincent, you don't see one of those everyday!" So I turned around to offer some assistance and check out that fine piece of machinery. His magneto had lost a sort of spring clip (maybe for a bushing contact?) and the bike just up and quit on him. His buddy was coming back with a trailer to rescue him and the bike. We chatted a bit and exchanged numbers. Nice fella with an awesome ride.
After getting my rich running bike sorted out (was a broke choke cable after all- thanks Jim Ballard!), took her for a nice long ride on some scenic roads in my area. I saw many bikes today but this one in particular was a standout.
This gentleman was on the side of the road working on his bike. I thought "wow, a Vincent, you don't see one of those everyday!" So I turned around to offer some assistance and check out that fine piece of machinery. His magneto had lost a sort of spring clip (maybe for a bushing contact?) and the bike just up and quit on him. His buddy was coming back with a trailer to rescue him and the bike. We chatted a bit and exchanged numbers. Nice fella with an awesome ride.
Attachments
I heard (can't confirm) that Boyers still provide advance even during kick over. Tri-Spark definitely makes kickback a big part of their advertising "The Classic Twin utilizes 21st century technology to provide simple installation, easy starting with no kick back and superior running."
If you had to retard your spark to avoid kickback w/ the Boyer I would think it would be across the entire RPM range and thus you would suffer at top end.
Took her out for a spin around the town this eve. She ran wonderfully. I was getting kickback at least 10% of the time w/ the Boyer. I've had 1 kickback in ~30 starts with the Tri-spark so far.
M
nice ride today, good weather good company. I got to see a lot of bikes, just about every marquee represented. There seemed to be an abundance of sport bikes. I had a nice chat with a the speed triple, atgatt group. nice bikes - different flavor.
We have a local Norton club that organizes a couple of runs a year in a bike friendly little town with some nice roads. They are always a good time.
![]()
Andrew,I think I saw that black Vincent at the run today - must have got it sorted out!
We have a local Norton club that organizes a couple of runs a year in a bike friendly little town with some nice roads. They are always a good time.
Andrew,I think I saw that black Vincent at the run today - must have got it sorted out!
Joined
·
6,804 Posts
Bob/M,
Thanks for the feedback. I was aware of the full advance with low voltage issue. But battery was fully charged and just installed so should not have been a low voltage issue. But I did not wire the bike so perhaps I have a high resistance connection somewhere. Need to check that.
That point about the Boyer providing some advance while starting is interesting. All engines have some advance at zero revs. But if the Boyer provides more and it is intermittent, then that could be the issue. My T140V came with a Boyer and it has never kicked back on me. And I'm rather grateful for that because it's a much hotter motor and would probably carry a more ferrocious kickback as a result. The BSA has on at least two occasionss kicked back at the bottom of the kick and started. Never had an engine do that before.
Might have to try a Tri-Spark. GPZ seems to be fond of them as well.
regards,
Rob
Joined
·
552 Posts
Can't believe this old thread is still rolling along....thanks to all who contribute to it
Joined
·
987 Posts
Thanks to the guy who started it.
Joined
·
987 Posts
Finally finished up the rebuild of my Amals yesterday and got them mounted. Getting the thicker o-ring to stay in place was a bit of a challenge but got it done. I could only tighten them down to about .06 gap before the slides staring pinching again, so I'm going to leave it as is and see how it works out for me. Sure was nice to run the Triumph around the back roads again, I tell ya.
921 - 940 of 9812 Posts
